Improvement in pyrotechnic cartridges



ignited, produce what is well known among and the usual priming;

, purpose hereinafter described. D is a primed I enough to cover the bottom of an ordinary PATENT EDMUND" s. HUNT, or WEYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, nssienoa-or om HALF HISIR-IGHT TO JOHN T. LOVELL, OF SAME PLACE.

- "iMPROVEMENT IN PYROTEOHNIC CARTRI-PGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 19,534. ed July 15, 1879; application filed October 2,1878.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, EDMUND S. HUNT, of \Veymouth, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and. useful Improvementsin Pyrotechnic (Jar-- tridges, of which-the following is a full, clear,

ignited. when shot from algum'or Qcartridgega.

shell. y,

In the drawings is shown a cartridge embodying my invention, in which- Figure 1 shows a side View, and Fig. 2 a cross section, of the pyrotechnic star-that is, the cylinder of suitable chemicals, which, when makers of fire-works as a star--embodying my invention, Fig. 3 showing a cartridge-shell loaded with such a star, a charge of powder,

A represents what is commonly called in th s art a star; B, the fulminate; O, a coverin g of tin-foil or some like substance, for the cartridge-shell in which my star is loaded, E

now to be set forth.

My improved staris made of chemicals capable of producing a star of the desired color, such chemicals being well known to all skilled in the art of making fire-works. It is allowed to harden in substantially the shape shown and of a proper diameter-to fit snugly in the shell or the barrel from which it is to be shot. To shoot such a star into the air from an ordinary fire-arm, only a little powder is required,

cartridge-shell or gun-barrel, if a n1 uzzle-loader be used, being suflieient for the purpose.

The explosion of the powder is not sufficient -to'ignite the star with certainty, and some additional means must therefore be used for igstar and ignite-it.

niting the star. I therefore use a small quantity of some fnlminate, placed atthat erid of the star which rests on the gunpowder, so that when the, gunpowder'is exploded the fnlminate will be ignited, and thus insure-'the" igniting of the star. v

The fulminate used should burn-comparative'l y slowly, in order to thoroughly heat-the The bestfulminate'f his purpose is composed of thirtyK tWd PMlLSIof chlorate of potash, sixteen partsofls'nlphur,

andone part of lamp-black, the wholeheing mixed with shellac dissolved in alcohol-5f thatis, thin shellac-varnishh. sufficient-qu'an;

ti'nait t iepenia eichemicals b i gedds l to it to make it about.the consistency of mo;

lasses. A fulminate mixed-Withi'sheIIae dis:

solved in alcohol attache-s itself more..firmly to the star, as the alcohol in which'theshellac is dissolved permeates the end of the star and dissolves a-little of the powdered shellac with which thest-ar is mixed, after which the fulminate and the end of the star dry together, thus causing the fulminate to adhere firmly'to, and be practically incorporated with, the star,

which is important. Byexperiment I have found that one drop of this componnd upon the end of a star .of the kind above described will be sntiicient to insure itsgignition.

It is found that stars composed in partof chlorate of potash-i. 0;, all stars for producing colored light-are liable to vbe; exploded while being shot outof a gun or pistol. The

cause of this explosion is the friction produced by the inside of the gun on the star when ex pelled by the powder, the friction being cs .peeially great after three .or four discharges when the barrel has become foul. To obviate this difficulty the whole of the star, except that part which comes in contact with the'gunpowder, and upon which is the fulminate, should be covered with some such material as tin-foil. I have found tin-foil the best for this purpose, as it gives greater weight to the star.

The star so formed is adapted to be loaded in a cartridge-shell, suchas is ordinarily used to hold the, powder and bullet for breech-loadin g guns and pistols, and may be used either as a means of signaling at night or in fire- Work displays. It requires a. very small amount of powder to discharge it, and may be very easily and cheaply made;

When loaded in a cartridge-shell, the star should be kept in place and from the air by a drop of tallowor wax, G, Fig. 3. What I claim as my invention is-- 1. The improved star above described, composed of suitable chemicals A, and having a drop of fulminate, B, firmly secured to andincorporated with its base by shellac dissolved in alcohol, as described.

2. The improved cartridge abovedescribed,

consisting of the primed cartridgeshell D, of usual construction and adapted to remain in the fire-arms, loaded with the expelling-charge 'E and the projectile AB 0, theprojectilc being a star composed of suitable chemicals A- and a drop of fulminate, B, adhering to its base, and wrapped with metal foil 0, to pre- .vent it from exploding friction in the bar- 

